Chicken made from plants brand TiNDLE, developed by Next Gen Foods, is accelerating global expansion with several high-profile additions to the senior management team, along with naming an experienced board of advisor. Alex Ward, previously head of Regional Innovation APAC at global fragrance creator Givaudan, has become chief operating officer; Rohit Bhattacharya has become chief financial officer, following a director role at Temasek; and Charlotte Teo has joined the team from Johnson & Johnson, as global marketing director.
Lending additional talent strength, TiNDLE has also formed a board of advisors, with Alberto Carrero, former Red Bull executive, as the first to be named.
The strengthening of the senior leadership team based in Singapore will allow Andre Menezes, co-founder and chief executive officer of TiNDLE, to scout the United States in preparation for TiNDLE’s launch and formulate and execute the strategy to establish TiNDLE on a global scale.
Menezes, said: “Following our launch, record-setting Seed round and exceptionally quick regional expansion, we are now accelerating our global expansion. Setting up a US headquarters, recruiting a great team, and bringing on an ecosystem of partners will set the foundations for our US strategy. This will develop our understanding of consumer expectations and demand and deliver a superb launch for TiNDLE in the US in 2022.
“We will of course continue to build our tantalising TiNDLE chicken experience across Asia’s trailblazing urban cities, with our leadership team in Singapore and across the Asia Pacific driving regional expansion. TiNDLE is already being sold side by side on menus with plant-based beef burgers from the leading US food tech companies in Singapore and Hong Kong.”
Expanded senior management
Alex Ward, previously head of Regional Innovation APAC at Givaudan has become chief operating officer. Alex has spent the last 25 years understanding what consumer’s love to eat and drink and selling flavours and ingredients to the food and beverage industry. Having a similar vision to Timo Recker, co-founder and chairman, Alex decided to join TiNDLE and support its global operations, bringing his extensive experience to the fore, and creating a positive impact on the planet.
Rohit Bhattacharya joined as chief financial officer, following a 10-year career at Temasek, most recently focused on the sustainable food space. Rohit also first connected Timo and Andre in 2019, which eventually led to the inception of Next Gen Foods. Being close to the business from the beginning it is a natural next step for him to join TiNDLE and channel his skills toward the vision of building a global leader in plant-based chicken.
Charlotte Teo joined the team from Johnson & Johnson, as global marketing director. With over 15 years of leading marketing and branding for global consumer brands including Tupperware, Nespresso, Aesop and Acuvue, Charlotte found the right opportunity to leverage her experience and champion brand development as TiNDLE expands globally, through multiple aspects of branding and marketing including public relations, digital and social media and on-premise marketing.
Middle East expansion
Continuing its global expansion, TiNDLE, Next Gen’s plant-based chicken, launched in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in mid-September 2021. Fine food specialist Classic Fine Foods, its distributor for Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau, is also distributing TiNDLE in the United Arab Emirates.
Christophe Barret, chief executive officer of Classic Fine Foods, said: “We want to become the choice partner for the best alternative protein brands, and to be recognised as a trailblazer, introducing innovations to our customers. TiNDLE is a game changer in the plant-based industry. It smells, tastes and cooks like chicken, while scoring very high in terms of texture and versatility whilst being vegan-friendly. After a successful launch in our key Asian markets, it will allow chefs across UAE to propose new elevated culinary experiences to their clients.”
The Middle East is a key market given its centrality to the world, the region’s reputation for very high chicken consumption, as well as market support for companies driving positive change in food systems. With an encouraging sign of interest from consumers and chefs, the expansion is in line with the mission to fast track TiNDLE’s goal of becoming the leading plant-based chicken globally.
